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U.S. law enforcement officials confirm that a man who flew from the United States to Amsterdam has been detained by Dutch authorities after some odd things were found in his suitcase before he left. But two U.S. officials tell NBC News that he wasn’t detained at the request of American authorities and that he's simply being held temporarily by Dutch police while the matter is sorted out.
Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security say concern over the incident is quite low.
ABC News reported Monday that two men were picked up at Schiphol, the main Dutch airport near Amsterdam. U.S. officials tell NBC News the second man is thought to be uninvolved and was simply sitting by coincidence next to the first man, who's from Detroit.
The man aroused suspicion because although the man was flying from Chicago to Amsterdam, he sent his luggage on a different route, bound for Yemen.
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In addition, "odd things" were found in his suitcase before he left the United States — watches and cell phones taped together, for example, and a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle. Officials say that no explosives were found and that security screeners determined that none of the materials were hazardous.
As strange as it may sound, travelers heading overseas often tape things together in their luggage for fear that the items will be damaged in transit, one of the officials pointed out.
Neither of the two men were previously of concern to law enforcement, a law enforcement official says, nor is there anything to suggest that they had ill intent.
A U.S. official says it appears the Dutch weren't asked to hold either man but were instead notified of the odd behavior and apparently decided on their own to detain them.
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It's not all that strange. I took fragile hostess gifts with me to Europe this year. While they weren't taped together, they were in baskets and the store packed and then shrink wrapped them for me. I imagine it looked odd going through the scanners (LOL) as the luggage was opened. However, the shrink wrap was clear, so it was easy to see what was in the packages.
you are either an idiot or disingenuous. This was a dry run to probe defenses, thats all. How come zero mention that these were Muslims?
Get your head out of the sand! The enemy is probing our defenses. I hope this fellow is tagged and followed. As for the media types making excuses for the enemy, well at best that's just plain stupid, at worst it's treason.
Well, there are a lot of people in the world who do hate us.
Were they "probing our defenses"? Hard to say exactly what they were doing but; since the luggage was obviously opened and examined our defenses seemed to have worked.
Want to take any bets on whether this guy is now on a watch list.
If you want to worry about something, worry about the ones that will find the next "new" way to get a bomb on a airplane. Not the guy that gets caught.
obviously a dry run
And it hasn't occurred to anyone that they might be testing our security? And what was the explanation for sending the luggage to Yemen by itself? Considering recent stories like this, an explanation is in order:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38909198
Seems to me the airline is responsible for sending the luggage to a different airport. Isn't your luggage suppose to travel with you. I think I would be looking at some of my employee's. Also, this could be a dry run for something more sinister.
It seems to say he intentionally sent it to Yemen by itself. This guy should have been detained by the U.S. and had better had a damn good explanation. Some may think it's paranoid, but innocent lives are lost when when don't investigate this stuff thoroughly.
Lol...MSNBC...i love it how you guys "Un-muslimed" this story, hell i had to look real hard for it. Don't worry CNN is just as bad. But at least your other liberal sister station got it right. They are two men of middle Eastern disent...and yes MUSLIMS....lol....liberals are sheep...for the slaughter...baaaaaaabaaaaa.......
Admit it, you all looked at this article because you thought they found embarrassing sex toys. It sure is why I clicked on it...
They should have been detained, questioned, and if they didn't tell us what we wanted, tortured until they did. That's the new 'merkin justice...
I am still wondering why, when the one thing that the CIA found out in all of its drug trials on interrogation, that the drug that worked is not used? It works at least 10 times better than any method involving pain. High doses of concentrated hash oil makes 'em giggle their way through interrogation and spill the beans. The CIA had 100% success rate if they got it into the person.
Unaccompanied luggage seems to be less of an issue now that suicide bombings are SOP.
And, I agree this guy was testing the security, and/or trying desensitize them to items that could be dangerous. I suppose there is a good reason why someone would tape a watch to a Pepto Bismol bottle, but I can't imagine what it would be, and that sounds like an arrangement that could look pretty similar to a bomb. I myself am happy when they use an abundance of caution.
Obama letting his fellow Muslims off again
Dude. Bush was worse. It has nothing to do with Obama being a muslim. He's just naive about them, but less naive than GW Bush. Bush was all smiles with Imam Awlaki, the guy Obama has a contract out on to kill now.
LMFAO...I guess you were one the the guys surveyed who said he thought Obama was a muslim. I don't care...its just funny.
Obama and Liberals are "useful idiots" for Muslim Terrorists
Come come.This bit about the dutch "deciding on their own" and "there's a low concern" about it is intended to calm the nerves of the co-conspirators with these boys.
Of course they are muslims. Muslims are required to fight infidels.
It is a little weird to route their luggage to Yemen though. Why send it there? And how on earth did they manage to do that? I guess I should try that trick. I'm assuming that they were checking to see if they could send a bomb onto an airplane that they would not be on.
What makes you think they are Muslim?? Who said anybody is required to fight anybody?? Stop watching faux entertainment. (it's showing)
Yea, yea. The airport called the President, he asked, "what's their religion?" the resonse was "muslim" and the Pres. said, "Oh, well in that case, let em bring bombs and Uzi's on because, you know, we all know each other".
If I were afraid of breakage, I would not tape an electrical device, such as a cell phone, to a liquid. I would be afraid that the liquid would get into/onto the phone and ruin it. Just a thought....
As soon as I heard that the men from Chicago were detained in Amsterdam, I felt pretty sure that they were not Mafia mob guys. When I read that one of them had sent his luggage on to Yemen, I knew I had been right. I mean, we are sitting here reading about an extremist Muslim plot or even a massacre almost every day...and we must pretend not to notice. We must also pretend to equate this international movement with a few isolated American idiots.
TSA should have detained him before he even got on the plane. TSA wouldn't know a bomb from a dildo. But the sure can recognize a laptop, Rolex, expensive jewelry, expensive cameras etc. What sleeper at the airline let him send his luggage separately. This is just a dry run to see if they can get away with it. Of couse with all the sleepers in the US from the White House down to the taxi drivers, what can you expect. The airline employee should be charged with conspiracy and sent to GITMO! Of course the government needs another airline bombing so they can ramp up the bureacracy and hire more idiots and theives to work in TSA.
There muslims therefore they are guilty. Pretty straight forward.
What makes us think they are Muslims, danc? It could have something to do with the fact that they sent their other luggage to Yemen.
I guess that their names might lead someone to believe that they were Muslims if someone was foolishly predisposed to always doubt that they were Muslims.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/united-flight-arrested-terror-charges-amsterdam/story?id=11517664
The more I watch this the more disturbing it gets: why is NBC covering for Muslim extremists? Why does Keith and Brian go out of their way to try to tell us that surely these guys were just eccentric, when it is an OBVIOUS dry run. Daly needs to start looking at all the Cab companies in Chicago- vast numbers of unregistered Muslims work or hang out at them, without accountability. The next strike in the US is bound to be by one of these guys.
What's this new policy about witholding information?
Were these men underage?
What kind of impartial journalism is this?
... Started out with unregistered Mexicans. Now it's unregistered Muslims. Wait, I didn't know "MUSLA" was a country !
Another poster made a comment about if one was so concerned about damaging their electronic devices, then why would one tape it to liquid (pepto bottle). I 100% agree! That's an excellent observation. This was totally a dry run to test airport security. So aside from taping electronics to liquid, what about shipping your luggage separately to Yemen? PUH-LEASE! I for one am glad this guy got caught I hope he's put on a watch list and I hope security in airports remain tight!
Whether it was a test of some kind or not...good to see that at least someone noticed. TSA let it slide (too busy eyeing off passenger's luggage for loot) , the Dutch picked it up though.
They weren't detained in Chicago because the idiot security didn't snap to the fact that this was a dry run for a terrorist attack later. The Dutch had enough sense to recognize it as a dry run. Remember when the flying instructor in AZ notified the FBI about his concern regarding middle eastern men wanting to learn how to fly a plane but not land it? Of course the fumbling bumbling idiots (FBI) ignored him. Those same guys were part of the 9-11 tragedy. The security at airports will frisk and detain an 80 year old woman because she might be a terrorist. Reminds me of the movie "Airplane" when it shows the arabs going into the airport carrying guns and no one said a thing. Looks like homeland security is securing the airports as well as they are the southern border.